Liu Bei didn't quite understand why Zhang Xi would put the pick-up point at Hanjinkou. Although Hanjinkou is the ferry of Han River, it is located in the middle of Nanjun, far away from Xiangyang.
Since it is to support him, why not go up the Han River and directly meet him in Yicheng County, southwest of Xiangyang, which is also the closest to him? !
Liu Bei was surprised, but he had no doubts about Zhang Xi's arrangement.
In Liu Bei's opinion, it might be a little difficult on Zhang Xi's side.
After all, Jiangxia is still Liu Qi's territory. Liu Qi's agreement to let Zhang Xi send troops to support him is already a sign of friendship. Maybe Liu Qi has some concerns and dare not go directly north along the Han River to approach Xiangyang.
But in fact, there is really no special reason for Zhang Xi's side. It is simply that Zhang Xi's mind has not turned around and he is thinking about the battle of Changbanpo.
Moreover, the Hanjin Ferry on the Han River is relatively large and can accommodate a large number of naval vessels.
At the end of June, Liu Qi returned from Xiangyang, but because he had not seen Liu Biao, Liu Qi felt that his hope of inheriting Jingzhou's pastoral position was slim.
Liu Qi didn't want to just sit back and wait for the Cai family in Jingzhou to deal with him after he took control of Jingzhou. Therefore, as soon as he returned to Jiangxia, he began to patrol Jiangxia's land and water armies, and even planned to make a last ditch effort.
If things really come to an irreversible step, Liu Qi plans to directly send troops to Xiangyang to "win" the Jingzhou Mu himself.
Therefore, starting from the beginning of July, the Jiangxia Army began to prepare for war.
But Liu Qi, if he really has such ability and determination, he will not be ignored by Liu Biao.
Liu Qi, the front-footer, had just made this determination and asked Zhang Xi, Su Fei and others to mobilize troops and conduct intensive training. However, within two days, this guy felt a little regretful and scared.
He felt that he only had more than 30,000 naval troops. Most of the navy's ships were sunk during the defense battle in E County. Jingzhou had a complete navy and army, and it was upstream. It had the advantage of numbers and geographical advantages. Liu Qi was afraid that he would not be able to defeat him. Jingzhou Army.
Therefore, this guy started to shrink back a little. He thought that it would be okay to protect Jiangxia, a three-acre land, and learn from Huang Zu.
A few days later, Liu Qi felt that something was not right again. Huang Zu was able to separate Jiangxia because he had the support of the Huang family in Jingzhou, but Liu Qi did not. It seemed a bit unrealistic to occupy Jiangxia.
At this time, the news that Cao Jun marched into Wancheng and Liu Bei retreated to Fancheng reached Jiangxia.
Liu Qi immediately summoned Chen Zhen, Su Fei, and Zhang Xi to discuss what they should do if Cao's army went south.
Zhang Xi is Liu Bei's person openly, while Chen Zhen is Liu Bei's person secretly. Su Fei is Liu Biao's person. Liu Qi asked these three people to give him advice, what good ideas can he come up with? !
Zhang Xi's suggestion at the time was - "Jingbei may not be able to defend, and Xiangyang is also in danger. It is better to go north to contact Liu Shijun. With the land of Jiangxia and Liu Shijun's ability, he may not be able to defeat Cao Cao by relying on the Han River and the Yangtze River to defend the enemy. . In the meantime, if the prefect goes north to Xiangyang, then Jingzhou will be captured."
To put it simply, Liu Qi is asked to go north to welcome Liu Bei to Jiangxia, form an alliance with Liu Bei, and use Jiangxia's special geographical location to resist Cao Jun. As long as Cao Jun is defeated, Cao Jun will inevitably withdraw north. At that time, Liu Qi can counterattack Xiangyang openly and become the shepherd of Jingzhou. .
Of course, this is a pie drawn for Liu Qi. How can it be so easy to achieve?
But Zhang Xi said this because he saw that Liu Qi didn't understand military affairs at all and had no ability to judge. In addition, Chen Zhen also followed the drum and echoed, so Liu Qi really agreed.
As for Su Fei, Zhang Xi was also surprised why Su Fei didn't speak out against Zhang Xi's plan that was full of loopholes, but remained silent.
But Su Fei had no objection, and Zhang Xi's troop deployment went very smoothly.
In mid-August, after Zhang Xi sent his private message to Liu Bei, he mobilized 3,000 land troops and 2,000 naval troops, and led more than 40 large and small warships to formally assemble in Hankou.
At this time, Su Fei found Zhang Xi and expressed that he would accompany Zhang Xi and go north to meet Liu Shijun.
Zhang Xi is the one who is wondering, what does this guy mean? !
Then Su Fei secretly told Zhang Xi the news-Liu Biao passed away.
Zhang Xi was shocked at that time.
Liu Biao's death meant that Liu Bei might have already retreated from Fancheng. He had to find a way to send troops early and wait for Liu Bei at Hanjinkou.
But then, Zhang Xi realized why Su Fei was telling him this? !
Su Fei must have noticed Zhang Xi's confusion, so he further explained, "Fei Zhong is Liu Jingzhou, not a young master!"
Then Zhang Xi suddenly realized.
Su Fei is a member of Liu Biao, and his allegiance is to Liu Biao, not to the young master Liu Cong, nor to the young master Liu Qi.
If Liu Biao is alive, then Su Fei can help the young master Liu Qi with advice, just to repay Liu Biao for his kindness.
Now that Liu Biao is dead, Su Fei should think about himself.
If Liu Qi is a qualified lord, it is not impossible for Su Fei to serve Liu Qi, but Liu Qi has disappointed Su Fei not once or twice.
Of course, there was a hint of Su Fei trying to excuse himself. Maybe he didn't think highly of Liu Qi either, but it was because of Liu Biao that he couldn't help.
But now that Liu Biao is dead, of course he can justifiably join the Ming Dynasty.
Not opposing the proposal to introduce Liu Bei at the meeting was just a vote of approval. Now he is going north with Zhang Xi to meet Liu Bei, obviously wanting to leave a good impression on Liu Bei.
Although Zhang Xi couldn't completely trust Su Fei, he couldn't refuse his suggestion to follow him.
Anyway, the three thousand men Zhang Xi led were all three thousand men under Chen Dao's account, and the commander of the two thousand naval forces was Chen Jiu. Zhang Xi had already instigated him to rebel, with one Su Fei and a dozen guards. , there are no waves on the river.
As for Chen Dao and Wei Yan, Zhang Xi did not take them with them this time.
Chen Dao wanted to stay in the camp and take control of the military, but Wei Yan, a landlubber, had psychological shadow over water warfare and could not get on the ship if he was killed.
Therefore, Zhang Xi could only take Kou Feng with him and set out to meet Liu Bei.
After rushing along slowly and hurriedly, finally in early September, the fleet led by Zhang Xi arrived at Hanjin Port. After the boat docked, Zhang Xi asked Kou Feng to lead his soldiers to disembark, and guarded the outside of Hanjin Port. At the same time, he sent troops to the surrounding counties. Send out sentries to investigate the current situation.
In just one day and one night, the sentinel came to report back.
Cao Cao's army marched south to Jingzhou, accepted Liu Cong's surrender, entered Xiangyang almost as a march and took over the power of Jingzhou.
Liu Bei, on the other hand, first crossed the river with his people and then went to Xiangyang to raise an army to question the crime. He invited Liu Cong to speak outside the city and wanted to ask Liu Cong why he gave up his father's inheritance and chose to surrender without informing himself.
As a result, Liu Cong's legs were so frightened that he did not dare to leave Xiangyang at all. Liu Bei had no choice but to turn south and head to Jiangling.
It's not that Liu Bei can't attack Xiangyang, it's just that Liu Bei can't bear to attack Xiangyang because of Liu Biao, and he doesn't want the world to think that he, an elder, is bullying his nephew.
Therefore, Liu Bei led his troops to Jiangling, preparing to occupy Jiangling to fight against Cao's army.
Zhang Xi sighed, and after a little calculation, he realized that this was Zhuge Liang's idea. After all, this guy had not given up the idea of occupying Jiangling to fight against Cao Cao.
Also, Jiangling City in Nanjun is also a fortified city, and it has a lot of food and grass. With the help of Zhuge Liang, a guy with complicated connections in Jingzhou, maybe he can really gain a foothold in Jiangling and fight against Cao Cao. There is no need to retreat directly. Go to Jiangxia.
Moreover, occupying Jiangling also has an advantage, that is, it can be connected with Jiangxia through the Yangtze River and support each other. Cao Cao really can't do anything about these two places easily.
But Zhuge Liang really didn't expect what happened next.
After Liu Bei left Xiangyang, people were still following him along the way, and more and more people gathered together.
Because they heard that Cao Cao was going south to Xiangyang, the people near Xiangyang, as well as a part of the Jingzhou army who were unwilling to follow Liu Cong and surrender to Cao Cao, all joined Liu Bei's army going south.
In just a few days, although Liu Bei's army was asked to add some troops, and the army quickly expanded from a few thousand soldiers going south to nearly 10,000 people, the number of people who originally followed Liu Bei also increased from less than 20,000 to more than 100,000.
Zhuge Liang was also confused now.
If there are only 20,000 people, then just follow him. Liu Bei now has nearly 10,000 soldiers. Protecting these people is not a problem, and it will not affect the marching speed too much.
But this number suddenly increased to hundreds of thousands. With the less than 10,000 soldiers in Liu Bei's hands, it was impossible to take care of all the people. Therefore, the marching speed also dropped from the original forty miles a day to only one day. It can travel more than ten miles.
Therefore, Jian Yong persuaded Liu Bei that if Cao Cao sent people to chase him, let alone capture Jiangling, he would be able to catch up in just a few days.
It is better to leave these people behind, Liu Bei takes these soldiers and march lightly, occupy Jiangling first, and then make plans.
But Liu Bei did not agree and said his famous saying.
"Every important thing in Fuji must be based on people. Now that people have returned to me, how can I bear to abandon them."
Then he ordered the soldiers to disperse, led by small schools along the way, to protect the people following him.
When Zhang Fei saw this situation, he wanted to persuade his elder brother to at least not spread out the soldiers so much.
But when he thought about his elder brother's character and temper, Zhang Fei also knew that it was useless to persuade him.
Therefore, he could only make arrangements with all his strength, summoned the junior high schools and junior high schools in the army, and said, "Do you still remember the daily drills?! Although you are scattered throughout the army, you must not be careless. You need to respond to each other in time. If an enemy comes, If you are unable to escape for a while, take up chariot formations to defend against the enemy. Don't panic, I will lead my troops to rescue you."
After Zhang Fei finished explaining these things, he followed Liu Bei's arrangements and arranged for soldiers to protect hundreds of thousands of people, and then set out on the road worriedly.
At this time, Zhang Fei and Liu Bei had the same idea. They were betting that after taking Xiangyang, Cao Cao would sort out government affairs, suppress the local noble families, and would not send troops easily.
And Cao Cao would indeed not send troops easily.
Jingzhou surrendered so happily that Cao Cao couldn't believe it, so he really needed to sort out Xiangyang's internal power relations and understand the interests and needs of all parties. Therefore, he was based in Xiangyang and really had no plans to lead the army south immediately.
But Cao Cao will not leave Liu Bei alone. This is the enemy he has always valued, and he will never leave any opportunity for Liu Bei to develop.
Cao Cao himself wanted to take control of Xiangyang, and his army would not go out lightly, but he first sent Cao Chun to lead the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, lightly armed and galloping south to pursue Liu Bei. Then Man Chong and Xu Huang were sent to Hanjinkou with 10,000 troops to block Liu Bei's possibility of escaping by boat.
Cao Cao was a top-notch military strategist of his generation. How could he not see that Liu Bei's goal was to go south to Jiangling? !
It is even more clear that once Liu Bei cannot advance into Jiangling, he will definitely retreat to Jiangxia by boat from Hanjinkou.
Therefore, Cao Cao sent out two groups of troops in order to completely block Liu Bei in the hinterland of Jingzhou.
As for Zhang Xi, he did not wait for Liu Bei for the time being at Hanjinkou, but instead waited for Cao Jun.
This is not good news. Although Zhang Xi has 5,000 men on hand, the 2,000 naval troops are responsible for operating the ship and cannot go ashore to fight. Only the 3,000 army troops who can actually fight are newly trained.
Just when Zhang Xi was worried about whether he could stop Cao's army led by Xu Huang and Man Chong, two famous generals in the world, with only three thousand troops and one bandit, God finally gave Zhang Xi good news.
There were more than fifty warships in the upper reaches of the river, approaching the entrance of Hanjin, and the leader was named Guan, named Yu, and given the courtesy name Yunchang.
(End of chapter)
